Sad Political Commentary

You know we're in for a dreary presidential campaign when four of the top candidates make the nonprofit "public interest group" Judicial Watch's list of Washington’s “Ten Most Wanted Corrupt Politicians” for 2007.

The group puts Democratic leaders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama on the list, along with Republicans Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani.

You can decide for yourself whether the accusations leveled at each of these people (as well as other Congressional leaders such as Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and Diane Feinstein) are credible or significant. If nothing else, the list provides food for thought about the state of our political system and our society.

Illinois Paranoia

Silly, huh?

Except that it seems to be a dominant line of thought for various Illinois bloggers and their readers.

Update: This paranoia is even more amusing when you consider that Illinois ranks higher than Texas (#31 vs. #47) in the Citizens Against Government Waste's 2006 Pig Book.

Local Political Debates & Media Coverage

Update (10/23): As predicted, last night's debate was given prominent coverage this morning by the newspaper (front page story and photo) and the TV station (footage and commentary during the morning news show) which co-sponsored it.

I'm about to again reveal my ignorance of the Way Things Work in journalism, and no doubt be taken to task for sticking my nose into business that isn't mine, but I'm puzzled and concerned about how local media outlets are covering – or not covering, to be accurate – public events meant to educate the voting public.

The latest puzzle arose yesterday when all the candidates appeared at a meet-n-greet event, followed by a debate between the two mayoral candidates. If you read this morning's Midland Reporter Telegram, or watched the CBS affiliate's local news program, you might think that these events didn't actually occur, as neither gave any acknowledgment to them. BUT...tonight, there will be an actual debate between the same two candidates, televised and covered in exquisite detail by both of those outlets.

How to explain this? Uneducated skeptic that I am, I suspect it's because yesterday's events were sponsored by the local ABC affiliate, and thus they were deemed unworthy of coverage by the competition. (To be fair, the local ABC website has nothing about tonight's debate, as far as I can tell.)

I realize that the news game is a competitive one, and one-upsmanship is nothing new. However, I can't see how the public is served when media outlets completely ignore events designed to instruct and inform said public simply because they're sponsored by a competing outlet. That seems juvenile and short-sighted.

I'm especially disappointed in the newspaper's lack of coverage, as it seems to indicate a complete mind-meld with KOSA-TV. Any day now, I expect to see something in the MRT's banner indicating that it's been renamed the MCM-MRT. It's one thing for TV stations to compete head-to-head; quite another – again, in my uninformed opinion – for the newspaper to take sides with one of them.

Political "Job Fair"

Mel Hudman, news director over at KMID-TV, is asking the Midland blogging community to help spread the word about next Sunday's candidate meet-n-greet-n-debate at Midland Center. I won't be able to attend but I promised Mel that I'd give a plug to this event, which is likely one of the last opportunities to find all of the citywide candidates in one spot.

The keynote event is a televised debate between mayoral candidates Wes Perry and Stephanie Sparkman. The debate starts at 6:00 p.m. at Midland Center, and will be televised by KMID; Mel will be the moderator. You can submit questions to be considered for the debate via this website.

I don't know whether another debate between these two folks will reveal anything new; this will be at least the third such face-off (unless I'm getting confused by all the other political debates). However, the "Job Fair" that precedes it seems to be a unique opportunity to talk with all the candidates for city council plus the mayoral wannabes. They've all agreed to participate, and each candidate will have a booth, making them in effect, captive audiences. This little soirée commences at 3:00 pm, again at Midland Center.

Note to Midland bloggers: Please help publicize this event if you don't mind devoting a post to it. I don't do much political blogging anymore, but this is an exception. The goal is to improve voter turnout in November. And if you post some interesting questions or issues to be submitted to Sparkman and/or Perry, Mel might even give you a hat-tip!

Something interesting coming up in a local election?

Update (8/17): Well, how about that? It's not so hypothetical after all.

So, hypothetically speaking, say you're an incumbent city councilman who's decided to seek another term, and you find out that your opponent will be a local college student just a few years past voting age. Do you:

1. Essentially ignore the opponent, spend as little money as possible, and count on "business as usual" to get you re-elected, but run the risk of being upset if not downright humiliated at the polls?
   
2. Engage the opponent as if he's got a fighting chance, spending a bunch of money to deflect the threat, but run the risk of appearing to be a bully?

Just curious. You know, hypothetically speaking. ;-)

Texas Monthly's "Best & Worst Legislators" List

Want a sneak peak at the 2007 edition of Texas Monthly Magazine's list of what its staffers consider to be the best and worst state legislators? You can read the article (for the next 24 hours, anyway) via this non-registration link. The article will appear in the July edition of the magazine.

If you want to cut to the chase, here are the "winners":

The Best and Worst Legislators for 2007, in alphabetical order, are:

THE BEST
Rafael Anchia, Democrat, Dallas
Sen. John Carona, Republican, Dallas
Byron Cook, Republican, Corsicana
Sen. Bob Deuell, Republican, Mesquite
Scott Hochberg, Democrat, Houston
Lois Kolkhorst, Republican, Brenham
Jerry Madden, Republican, Plano
Sen. Steve Ogden, Republican, Bryan
Sylvester Turner, Democrat, Houston
Sen. Tommy Williams, Republican, The Woodlands

THE WORST
Lon Burnam, Democrat, Fort Worth
Warren Chisum, Republican, Pampa
Speaker Tom Craddick, Republican, Midland
Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, Republican
Sen. Troy Fraser, Republican, Marble Falls
Charlie Howard, Republican, Sugar Land
Sen. Eddie Lucio, Democrat, Brownsville
Sen. Dan Patrick, Republican, Houston
Gov. Rick Perry, Republican
Debbie Riddle, Republican, Houston

An additional list of "Furniture" is also provided. Here's how the magazine describes this category: The concept of “furniture” originated in the early years of the Legislature to describe members who were no more consequential than their desks, chairs, inkwells, and spittoons—the equivalent of backbenchers in Parliament. Today the term is only mildly pejorative; the sin lies not in being furniture but in failing to recognize it.

Alma Allen Democrat, Houston
Roberto Alonzo Democrat, Dallas
Wayne Christian Republican, Center
Senator Craig Estes Republican, Wichita Falls
Joe Farias Democrat, San Antonio
Jim Jackson Republican, Carrollton
Senator Mike Jackson Republican, League City
Nathan Macias Republican, Bulverde
Armando Martinez Democrat, Weslaco

If you're expecting some kind of commentary from me about any of this, I hate to disappoint you but you'll need to look elsewhere.

Texas Politics: Never a Dull Moment

The state legislature has finally – finally! – ended its latest session, having expended vast amounts of energy to provide the utmost in entertainment for the benefit of the voters of Texas, and the Texas Insider has a tidy compilation of the winners and losers from the session. My favorites:

I didn't realize that our proud state had no Official Amphibian. I guess Dan Rather doesn't count.

Putting a speed bump on new Texas tollroads

The Texas Insider reports that a Houston state representative has co-authored a bill that puts a two year hold on the Trans-Texas Corridor (TTC) and allows the legislature to study the way the Texas Department of Transportation (TXDOT) handles all toll roads.

The report says that Dwayne Bohac has some of the same concerns that a bunch of ordinary Texas citizens have about the state's plans to grab a huge swath of land through the central part of the state on which a toll road would be built and operated by a Mexican company:

I'll confess that when I first encountered the arm-waving over the plans for the TTC, I chalked it up to the usual flat-earth backlash against anything that smacks of progress. But the more I learn of the project, the more odious it seems, and I applaud the move to slow things down in order to get full disclosure on the table.

If you want to track the flipside of the coin as shown on the TTC site linked above, visit CorridorWatch (which sports the world's longest home page). One key difference between the two sites that's more telling than one might initially realize: the TTC site is also provided in Spanish.

Technorati tag: Trans-Texas Corridor

Campaign Advice

Dear Esteemed Presidential Candidates,

I trust that you'll tell me if I'm speaking out of turn, but it occurs to me, after listening to some of your speeches and interviews, that you may have missed a critical piece of information that might affect your future campaign strategies and tactics. I know you're awfully busy right now, what with raising money and getting hardball interviews on Letterman, but you might want to alert your staff of the importance of informing you about these kinds of details in the future.

The President is not running for re-election.

OK, I think that's it for now. I'll check back with you periodically to see if there are any other minor details you mind want to incorporate into your worldview.

Yours truly,

Me

Poll Faulting

Let me get this straight. A mere two months after turning control of both houses of Congress to the Democrats, a significant majority of Americans feel that the country is moving in the wrong direction (according to a recent and widely publicized poll)? Now, I know I'm a political naif, but this seems to be buyer's remorse on a national scale.

Fortunately, we are blessed with the guidance of CNN Headline News, which was careful yesterday to put a photo of President Bush next to this poll question in its recurring reports, so we'd know *wink, wink* who poll respondents had in mind when they voiced their opinion, never mind that his name wasn't mentioned in conjunction with this question.

The lesson to be learned here? Friends don't let friends respond to lame polls (which, really, is a redundancy).

Shooting Fish in a Barrel

Just for the record, I have absolutely no comment about Congress taking a day off due to the BCS football game being played tonight. Nope. Nosireebob. Not a thing to say. My lips are sealed.

Election Thoughts

It occurred to me last night that the faithful reader of the Gazette is probably itching to get my take on last Tuesday's national elections, and so I spent a good twenty minutes or so (during commercial breaks in ER, which I find myself inexplicably drawn back into after a few years of apathy) to draft a pithy post of political punditry in which the implications of said elections were dissected and splayed open for all to see and marvel upon.

After re-reading the post, I admitted to myself that my only purpose was to create a semi-plausible context for using the phrase "not ignoring the elephant that's not in the room," and that hardly seemed sufficient justification, so I deleted it.

However, lest some people read into my relative silence on the issues more than is appropriate, I'll throw out my $0.02 in the matter, and then return to the more pressing matters of tracking the squirrel-related issues in my backyard.

I congratulate the Democrats for an impressive overall victory, and suggest that they use this granting of temporary majority status by the American electorate to learn the distinction between statesmanship and political hackitry. Their Republican predecessors couldn't figure it out, and while they were busy designing a monument to their decades-to-come dynasty, the electorate took things into their own hands.

Which, of course, they'll do again. Neither party appears to be able to absorb the truth that the majority of Americans desire a centrist type of leadership in their government. Deviation too far to either end of the spectrum will eventually be punished at the polls. Tuesday's results appear to offer a fresh opportunity to learn this lesson. I, for one, will do my best to curb my cynicism while waiting to see if it happens.

In conclusion, my favorite summation of the elections comes from my fellow Midland blogger over at Sleepless in Midland when he characterizes the election outcome by quoting Jane's Law: The devotees of the party in power are smug and arrogant. The devotees of the party out of power are insane.

I, myself, intend to remain smugly insane. I draw the line, however, at arrogance, and I heartily recommend to you that same philosophy.

Kerry Response

A friend just emailed this to me; the original source is unknown to me.

If some of our politicians had only a fraction of the class of those serving our country in harm's way, we'd all be better off.

Gorbachev's visit not universally praised

Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev visited Midland last night as a part of the John Ben Shepperd Public Leadership Institute Distinguished Lecture Series. I didn't attend the event (I have watched the video, here -- or at least the first 41 minutes, which is all that is provided), but about 5,000 other people did, and based on what I'm reading in the media, he's next in line for sainthood.

I guess I'm in the minority when I say that I'm less than impressed and pleased with some of his remarks. Hugo Chavez's recent rantings at the U.N. provided a lifetime's quota of lectures from socialist outsiders, and while Gorbachev isn't insane, he still doesn't have the credentials to waltz in here and tell us how to run our country, especially with respect to how we deal with our own security.

For example, according to this report, Gorbachev thinks we're mishandling Iraq, and "...recommended using the Soviet Union's approach to its withdrawal from Afghanistan." OK, correct me if I'm wrong here, but wasn't the Soviet Union's "approach to withdrawal" more like the scattered retreat that comes after you've been handed your rear end by your adversary?

He also tried to compare our efforts to secure our southern border against illegal immigration with the Berlin Wall. "Now the United States seems to be building almost the Wall of China between itself and this other nation with which it has been associated for many decades and has had cooperation and interaction with."

Someone should remind Mr. President that the Berlin Wall was designed to stop all intermingling of the citizens of a single nation that was arbitrarily torn asunder by an outside aggressor. Our country's efforts are designed to enforce the types of laws that are routinely enacted by civilized sovereign nations with respect to one another; legal immigration, trade, cultural and social interaction are not the targets.

I don't deny that there's value in hearing firsthand from a significant player from a signficant period of world history, but I hope listeners will exercise a little discernment about what they hear. Just because someone "important" is paid to visit the relative backwaters of west Texas (and no disrespect is intended; this is my home, and I'm proud of it) shouldn't grant them automatic standing to have every utterance swallowed without close inspection.

I'm Pro Choice (When it comes to the Dixie Chicks)

My good friend, author, raconteur, newspaper editor, ultra-suave man-about-town, and fellow blogger Jimmy Patterson argues eloquently and passionately on the front page of today's local newspaper that the Dixie Chicks are being given a raw deal by local radio stations who are apparently still refusing to give airplay to the group's music in the wake of Chickita Natalie Maines's assertion a couple of years ago that she was ashamed to be from George W. Bush's home state.

I'm in complete agreement with a couple of Jimmy's assertions. First, Ms. Maines's right to publicly express her opinion is constitutionally protected. Second, any threats of death or harm to her or her family (assuming they're real and not planks in a PR platform) are despicable.

Where I think mi amigo wanders into the weeds is when he implies that local radio stations have some kind of obligation to play the Chicksters's music, and that music consumers have a similar obligation to listen to it or even *gasp* buy it because not to do so somehow stifles The Dialogue.

To my way of thinking, Dixie Chicks, Inc. is a business, and if it's not a publicly traded corporation in the traditional sense, it still has stakeholders who determine its success. The product DCI is pitching has a lot to do with music, but it's more than that. It's a shrewdly marketed package that owes a large amount of success to the fact that the Chicks are relatively young, relatively fetching, and generally astute about the preferences of their "stockholders," who may also be referred to as "those who buy their CDs or pay to download their music, including but not limited to young hormone-driven guys." Part of their business strategy -- no doubt worked out in detail in a boardroom filled with lots of young marketing gurus with soul patches and PowerPoint presentations -- is to be a bit edgy, a bit controversial (which Jimmy astutely acknowledges in his article), and if you don't buy that, just take [another] look at the cover of Entertainment Weekly where the Chicklets choose to appear in their birthday suits. Think that wasn't a stroke of marketing genius (or desperation? Hard to distinguish the two, sometimes)?

Anyway, what Ms. Maines did on that London stage in 2003 was commit the cardinal sin of forgetting that she's both a marketer and a product, and, worse, of failing to understand the desires of her stockholders. Chalk it up to hubris, sincere exuberance, or plain old ignorance -- and it's probably a combination of all three -- but for whatever reasons, she stepped over the strategic line that was drawn for her a long time before, and in doing so made a lot of "investors" decide to realign their portfolios.

Ms. Maines is not guilty of treason, or of giving aid or improving morale of the enemy. Lord help us if country music -- especially the Nashville variety -- is that influential. No, it seems to me that her sin is primarily that of being an incompetent businesswoman. Unfortunately for her and her fellow Chickories, the wages of sin in this case are manifest on the demand side of the equation, and continuing to harp on "stockholders" for their unwillingness to invest in damaged goods just compounds the error.

It should be further noted that local radio stations are apparently unwilling to make a similar mistake -- that of ignoring the wishes of their customers -- and I was educated to believe that giving the customers what they want (or not giving them what they don't want) is fundamental to our great American Economy. I suppose we can argue that their marketing research is faulty, but I'm pretty sure they know more about that than we do.

So, while I support mi amigo Jimmy's right to buy and listen to everything the Chickorettes choose to put on the market, I don't think he's made a particularly compelling argument as to why anyone else should jump on the bandwagon. It might help, however, if they'd do another magazine cover, perhaps for Guns and Ammo.

Disclosure: I wouldn't know a Dixie Chick song if it bit me on the iPod. But since when has being informed been a requirement for punditry?

Midland Projects in "Pig Book"

Four Midland projects totaling $880,000 made the just-released 2006 edition of the Congressional Pig Book, an "annual compilation of the pork-barrel projects in the federal budget" published by the Citizens Against Government Waste. This year's Pig Book documents 9,963 projects costing about $29 billion of our taxes paid to the federal government.

The four local projects making the list are as follows (taken directly from the Pig Book database):

The code in the Status column means "No Budget Request" (NBR), "Added in Conference" (C). The Appropriation is classified as "Transportation" (TRANS).

The CAGW defines "pork" as any project that meets at least two of the following criteria:

• Requested by only one chamber of Congress
• Not specifically authorized
• Not competitively awarded
• Not requested by the President
• Greatly exceeds the President’s budget request or the previous year’s funding
• Not the subject of congressional hearings
• Serves only a local or special interest.

Less than $1 million out of $29 billion. Hmm. We seem to be underachieving in this important area. Based simply on a per capita computation, we got pork of in the pitiful amount of $8.80 per resident, while the nation as a whole was treated to more than $96 per person (using a total population figger of 300 million). Well, maybe this is one time that it's OK not to be at the top of the list.

Technorati tag: Pig Book

No staffers were harmed in the writing of this post

My fellow Midland bloggers over at Jessica's Well are having fun with U.S. Congressman Mike Conaway's blog.

I would never begrudge them the opportunity to haul out their impressive Photoshopping skills, and any elected official's attempts at blogging is fair game, albeit only slightly less challenging than shooting fish in the proverbial barrel. At the same time, there's no small irony in a collection of anonymous bloggers giving grief to Conaway for letting his staff write most of the posts on his blog. Someone should perhaps break it to the JW folks that Dubya doesn't actually write all of his speeches.

Then there's this pronouncement from the previously linked JW post: "Using Movable Type (or whatever) to post press releases does not a blog make." Really? I hope they'll pop over to Wikipedia and correct the obvious shortcomings in that site's definition of blog, which is apparently off base, beginning as it does, thusly: A blog (a portmanteau made by contracting the phrase "web log") is a website in which items are posted on a regular basis and displayed in reverse chronological order. Regardless of your opinion about the quality or origin of the posts on Conaway's blog, as far as I can tell it still meets every aspect of that definition.

Still, lest you think that I have naught but criticism of JW and its pounding of the congressman's blog, let me go on record as saying that I wholeheartedly agree with its take on Conaway's proposed bill to require US congresspersonages to read the Constitution each session.

Cowboys and Politics

The Donald C. and Elizabeth M. Dickson Research Center serves as the library and archives of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. Its mission, to quote the website, "is to preserve, document, and interpret the heritage of the American West for the enrichment of the public by collecting, arranging, describing, making available, and preserving library, photographic, and archival materials related to the West and its social and cultural history."

I've just come across one of the Center's online exhibits entitled Like a Cowboy: Imagery in Politics, Prose and Reality. The exhibit is a series of images juxtaposed against blurbs of text taken from a wide variety of sources, including poetry, newspaper and magazine articles, personal correspondence...and even the blogosphere.

It's a jumble of perspectives, where the lyrics to Song of the Cattle Trail, a 1907 postcard showing the start of a cattle drive and a quote from a magazine published in 1895 bump up against an excerpt from, well, this.

Like a Cowboy is an unfiltered look at how cowboys -- and the concept of the cowboy -- has been used and misused through the years. Apart from the dubious judgment of including a portion of a Gazette post (an acknowledgement which I nevertheless gratefully accept), it's a fascinating presentation. The old photos alone are worth a visit.

Technorati tag: National Cowboy Museum

Brother Ben's Traveling Salvation Show

Because of the veritable groundswell of demand (OK...two people, but that's a significant percentage of my regular readership), I'm going to complete the post that I began yesterday morning. It's better that I took a little time to think about it anyway. I've got a different perspective now than I did right after the event.

We attended Ben Stein's lecture Thursday night at Midland College, courtesy of the Davidson Distinguished Lecture Series. For those readers not in Midland, this program invites generally well-known speakers and provides free admission to the public.

You can read Stein's creds on his website if you're not already familiar with him. Given his success in a wide range of endeavors, labeling him a "Renaissance Man" is probably not hyperbole, at least with respect to the breadth of his intellectual achievements. But whatever it was that Ben once staked his claim to fame on, he's nowadays first and foremost an entertainer. Sure, he's got a background in law and economics and was a presidential speech-writer and was active in the Civil Rights Movement of the 60s, and his conservative take on most* things political and economic give him a broad and enthusiastic base of support from those on the right of center...like, say, the typical audience in Midland, Texas.

What he provides is an entertaining and often humorous monologue, filled with easily digested sound bites and a lot of "motherhood and apple pie" homilies that we've heard many times before. I suppose that it's encouraging to hear such things from someone who rubs shoulders with the "elite" in Hollywood and Malibu (he and Babs apparently do their grocery shopping in the same store), but I can't help wondering if and why those things have any more relevance when coming from his lips than from the pulpits and coffee shops and cafés and living rooms all around our city and our part of the country. Really, the adage about preaching to the saved was never more appropriate than Thursday night.

Stein does know how to hook an audience. In our case, he began by referring to Midland as "the last refuge of the sane American" and the place "where I'm moving when I retire." Responding to the warnings he was given about Midland being a treeless landscape, he said "people are the trees; they give you shade and shelter."

I'm sure he was suitably impressed by the pre-lecture reception in his honor at The Racquet Club, a lovely venue that I suspect 90% of Midlanders have never set foot inside. And I'm sure he was gratified by the applause that frequently interrupted his talk, in response to comments like...

• Poverty does not yield to paternalism; it yields to free market capitalism and democracy.
• If the people who run the New York Times could see the peace of mind on your faces, it would drive them insane.
• Major media and Hollywood are having a negative effect on our determination to defeat the enemy that wants to destroy America.
• The US military can't save America by itself. Someone more than likely died for us today in Iraq or Afghanistan. What did we do today to deserve that honor?
• Tony Blair says that the simple measure of a country is by counting how many people want in, and how many want out. As far as I can tell, the only people who want out of America are Barbra Streisand and Alec Baldwin. I've offered to help Barbra move, but so far, she's ignored me.
• After Katrina, the media rioted...in it's hatred for Bush.

He paid a well-deserved tribute to those serving in America's military, to the "first responders," to school teachers, to Laura Bush and to her mom (who was in the audience). He contrasted the heroism of various well-known actors in WWII to the noticeable absence of similar stories today.

He devoted a few minutes to describing the dangers and life-threatening situations faced by the military in Iraq and Afghanistan. His remarks were made uncomfortable by the fact that we were sitting next to a friend whose son was shipping out to Iraq -- and, specifically, to Baghdad -- as a combat soldier the very next morning.

Stein left us with the simple admonition that we should and could find meaning in life by doing things for other people. At the end, he got a standing ovation.

But, a couple of days after the event, I can't help wondering...what did we learn? What was accomplished? I guess I was hoping for more...more facts, more analogies, more historical perspective...to help us create a better and more satisfying context within which to view current events and economic trends. Perhaps he feels the need to "dumb down" his remarks for general audiences such as this. Or, perhaps, Ben Stein is just another actor -- albeit much better educated and informed than 99% of his fellows -- who happens to have a worldview and values that closely parallel those of the audiences in his chosen venues.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not criticizing Ben Stein for getting large sums of money to say things that his audience wants to hear. It's a basic matter of supply and demand, and as an economist he understands that as well as anyone on the planet. I simply want to make sure to remind myself that letting someone else do our thinking for us is a dangerous strategy, and while we need cheerleaders, the real action is on the playing field. Thursday night's pep talk was entertaining but I didn't leave better prepared for the game.

For additional, and differing, perspectives on his lecture, be sure to visit Wallace's post at Streams (if the permalink doesn't work, look for the 9/23/05 post), and the article in the Midland Reporter-Telegram. The one quibble I have with the latter article is in the use of "hundreds" to describe the number of people in attendance. That's technically correct, but conveys a different impression than if the more accurate "thousands" had been used.

*Perhaps the most interesting thing he revealed was during the Q&A that followed his prepared remarks, where he was asked about alternatives to the current income tax system. He espouses something like a VAT, but also specifically calls for the continuation of a progressive form of whatever tax system is used. In other words, he believes that the "rich" should pay proportionately more in taxes than the "poor." Given that many economists who hold political views similar to Stein's seem to agree that it's the wealthy who create the jobs and power the economic engine, I was somewhat surprised by his statement.

Technorati tag: Ben Stein

Can't Wait for 2008?

I can't believe that people are actually wasting time speculating on the 2008 presidential election. I mean, don't they have anything better to do?

I, for one, refuse to get involved in this silly game. I'll not be making any predictions, nor will I even speculate as to who's going to do what. And even if others choose a different path, and post stuff about it, I refuse to link to any of it. Like this, for example.

Tip o'the Uncle Sam tophat to my anonymous pal, who also won't link to stuff like this!

Political Typology Quiz

Jim over at Serotoninrain has discovered, via NPR, a very interesting online quiz purporting to provide you with your "Political Typology." The quiz is provided by The Pew Research Center and thus comes with strong credentials (in my mind, at least).

Unlike Jim, who was mortified at the results of his first pass with the test, I'm quite satisfied with my characterization as "Upbeat."

That blurb doesn't fit me to a "t"; I'm a bit less comfortable with the immigration issue, for example, and I don't disagree with the President's foreign policy decisions as much as this makes it sound. But, overall, this isn't too far offbase.

The demographics of who falls into each category are fascinating. It's worth spending some time on the website just to see if you are outraged, encouraged or at least edified by the results of the survey.

Technorati tag: Political Typology

"Lone Star Rising"

Aaron Peña is a Democratic Representative (District 40, in South Texas) in the Texas House of Representatives. He also has a blog titled "A Capitol Blog," where he posts as "The Rep." According to this website, he's the only Texas legislator to have a blog. Good for him, I say.

Apparently feeling a little lonely, he's enlisted some fellow legislators to participate in a new group blog, started April 10, called "Lone Star Rising." Rep. Peña describes the new blog in these humble terms: "Political discussion and commentary by leaders of the great state of Texas."

One might infer from that description that this will be a fine forum for non-partisan discussion of issues facing the state legislature. One would also apparently be wrong, based on the contributions to date.

Let's recap the posters thus far, shall we?

• REP. JOE DESHOTEL - Democrat (Dist. 22, Port Arthur)


• REP. VERONICA GONZALES - Democrat (Dist. 35, Alice)


• REP. RAFAEL ANCHIA - Democrat (Dist. 103, Dallas)


• REP. JOAQUIN CASTRO - Democrat (Dist. 125, San Antonio)

Are we sensing a trend here?

All posts are being uploaded under Rep. Peña's name, presumably because the others don't know how to do it themselves.

Most of the posts thus far have a decidely partisan tone to them, and judging by their quality, I don't expect Lone Star Rising to appear on many Texas blogrolls anytime soon. It's unfortunate that something that could have been used for some non-partisan perspectives on the state legislative process is apparently going to be used simply for the benefit of one party, without even disclosing that strategy to visitors. And, after all, it's not like we don't have enough other less-than-expertly crafted, obviously partisan blogs to choose from.

OK, I'll admit that I don't know if Rep. Peña has attempted to recruit Republican legislators to participate in Lone Star Rising. Maybe he has, and they've declined. If that's the case, I apologize to Rep. Peña...although I still think he needs to label the posters with their party affiliation, in the interest of full disclosure.

Tip o'the Stetson to gritsforbreakfast, posting at Texas Bloggers.

Technorati Tag: Lone Star Rising

Legalized Gambling in Texas is a Sucker's Bet

So begins State Representative Charlie Howard's (R-Sugarland) essay on why legalized Video Lottery Terminals (the geek-speak term for slot machines) is a short-sighted, misguided and even immoral approach to adding money to the state's coffers. Read the whole thing on the Texas Insider's website (free registration required).

White House Conference on Aging

This post is primarily directed to those readers who are getting older. If you don't fit into that category, then you can return to your own version of reality; please excuse the interruption.

Every ten years, the White House holds a Conference on Aging, during which delegations from each state present feedback to Congress and the President about issues facing older Americans. The next conference is coming up in October, and Texans have been invited to provide input to their delegation by April 15. Here's the official announcement:

This is your chance to provide some input regarding issues that will affect most of us, either directly or indirectly, sooner or later. The squeaky wheel may get the grease, but the creaking joint speaks even louder.

If you're a Texas blogger, I suggest that you replicate this announcement as a service to your readers. A link to the Gazette is not necessary.

Dean is to 2008 as Gravy is to Batteries

I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier when it comes to politics, but I really don't understand the Republican glee over the selection of Howard Dean to head up the Democratic National Committee.

If you listen to the commentators on Fox News, for example, you'd think that the Republicans had just been handed the keys to the 2008 White House on a silver platter. Some are going so far as to say that Dean's appointment will not only ensure a Republican presidency in 2008, but will ensure Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.

I don't buy it. Sure, Karl Rove swung a heavy bat behind the scenes in the last presidential election, and I suppose his strategy decisions reinforced certain themes that "resonated" with the majority of voters. But the race still went to the candidate with the best ideas (as judged by those voters), and I don't believe for a minute that Rove planted any of those ideas in an otherwise barren landscape.

Until proven otherwise, I believe that Hillary Clinton will be the Dem's candidate in 2008, and Senator Clinton will set the agenda for the party's run at the White House, when it comes time to do so. How much does she need Dean? So much that rather than being in close proximity at the time he was anointed, she's in Ukraine as a part of the Congressional delegation meeting with the newly elected President Yuschenko.

Republicans would do well to look at Dean in similar fashion as C.S. Lewis warned Christians to view the devil: you can get in trouble by not taking him seriously enough, but also by taking him too seriously.

SOTU 2005: Touching scene

Update (2/3/05): Fox News reported that the purple fingers belonged to freshman Republican Representatives, which would explain Bush's slightly exasperated dismissal. It was the same expression you might see on the senior football team captain's face, upon viewing a row of underclassmen in the stands with their hairless chests painted in the school colors. "Freshmen. Sheesh. But what are you gonna do?" I do wonder if Midland's Mike Conaway was part of the Purple Gang.

The most emotional part of tonight's SOTU was when the mother of the slain Marine, killed during the assault on Fallujah, was embraced by the Iraqi woman whose father was killed by Saddam Hussein a few years ago. The unspoken gesture of gratitude and empathy was moving beyond words.

[The spell was broken a bit when the dogtags the mom was holding got tangled up in the Iraqi woman's coat sleeve button and they had a tough time extricating themselves. One of the Fox News commentators later said that the mother gave the dogtags to the woman; I don't believe that was the case.]

Question for someone more perceptive than me: who held up the purple-stained finger in front of the President during his entrance before the speech? I thought it was one of the members of Congress, but I couldn't tell for sure. Bush had a funny reaction...he did a very slight doubletake and immediately turned away, almost like he wasn't sure if it was a joke. Anyone else catch that?

SOTU 2005: Take no prisoners

Thirty minutes into the State of the Union speech and the Democrats in the chamber have already had their eyebrows singed clean off by a President who has never sounded more, well, presidential. His presentation of the issues facing Social Security and some groundrules for fixing them was as forceful and masterful as one could ever hope for. I especially liked the reference to giving the rest of America the same retirement options that federal employees currently enjoy.

Plus, he just winked at a Supreme Court justice.

Gee, I think W's enjoying this. I know I am.

Some donks get it

Bull Moose is rooting for a democratic Iraq, even if...

And from my perspective, even if he's wrong about everything else, the one thing he's right about is common ground enough for hope.

Bush Cabinet Flash Cards

At the risk of ruining my well-deserved rep as a political naif, I highly recommend the Before You Know It (BYKI) "Proposed Bush Cabinet" flash cards.

BYKI is a program from a company called Transparent Language, which specializes in language learning tools. The preceding link allows you to download a free version of the BYKI flash card viewer software along with 15 "virtual flash cards" containing each of the current and proposed Bush cabinet members (photos, names and positions). The program is more interesting than the subject matter (duh), but I have to admit that there's something sort of satisfying about being able to distinguish a Bodman (Energy) from a Gutierrez (Commerce). [The fact that the software is available for both Mac (OS X only) and Windows is a plus.]

Once I get the cabinet down, I'm going to work on trying to understand Barbara Boxer!

Tip o'the hat to Wonkette, whom, frankly, I rarely ever understand.

Inaugural Scrooge

Today's presidential inauguration was a uniquely American time of celebration and reassurance that our Constitutional system remains intact and functioning despite the best efforts of those enemies, both external and internal, who would bring it down. The orderly and peaceful transition or continuation of governing power is something that transcends political party agendas and engenders pride and hope in all Americans regardless of their voting records.

Well, maybe not all.

I bought his book, but I'll never buy his POV.

It occurred to me today, watching the President watching the parade in his honor, and seeing him genuinely enjoying the marching bands and other participants, that those who can't stand him must really be chapped by the fact that he's an indisputably all-around nice guy. The cognitive dissonance must be driving those people up the wall.

Technorati tag: Inauguration

Moore gets Whittled

Bill Whittle has a new mini-essay ("mini" for him, anyway) up about Michael M00re (I just hate giving the guy more search engine fodder; you just know he's always googling himself). Whittle's as good short as he is long.

W2: More of a good thing

Am I the last person on earth to see this?

I wonder if I could talk the Midland County GOP into putting this logo on their home page?

Wave o'the elephant ears to HokieGator.

Not Everybody is Happy about the Ukraine Election

Discoshaman expertly fisks an antiwar.com journalist who sees a Reaganite behind every lamppost...as if there's anything wrong with that.

If you have the time, be sure to read the comments.

Just as you should never engage a Sicilian in a contest of wits to the death, so should you not irritate a politically-astute intelligent American blogger living in Ukraine.

Coals to Newcastle

The normally level-headed Bull Moose has some strange advice for CNN: "Keep the serious reportage - but eliminate the dull and dry. And dare to be explicitly left of center!"

His advice is based on the premise that in order to compete with Fox News, which is regularly slamming CNN in the ratings, the latter needs to figure out a way to attract more of the 57 million Americans who voted for Kerry. His arithmetic may be right, but his logic confuses me, as he seems to contend that the real problem is that CNN (and the networks) just aren't "explicitly liberal" enough to attract that audience.

I suspect that the majority of Americans -- those who didn't vote for Kerry -- would disagree with the Moose's assessment...but wouldn't necessarily ask him to change his advice. Nothing will help to ensure a continued growth in conservative political power than an increased liberal slant to mainstream media (if, indeed, that's even possible).

An Apology to Senator Clinton

In a post a couple of days ago, I reprinted a quote attributed to Hillary Rodham Clinton by the Texas Insider. I used that quote as a jumping off point for a mini-rant about politicians (and Ms. Clinton specifically) attempting to jump on the "evangelical bandwagon" as an apparent matter of political expediency rather than genuine spirituality.

I'm embarrassed to find that this quote was actually concocted by someone else and "jokingly" attributed to Senator Clinton. Here's the full text of the retraction from the editor/publisher of the Texas Insider:

I, too, extend my apologies to both Ms. Clinton and the readers of the Gazette. I have deleted the offending post (one of the good things about blogging...you really can undo the most obvious parts of the past...although that pesky Google cache sometimes mucks up the works) and reworded a subsequent post that referred to the fallacious quote.

I'm not a journalist (in the professional/occupational sense of the word), nevertheless, I should know better than to run with a quote like that without independently verifying it. Needless to say, it will be a while before the Texas Insider has my complete trust, and I recognize that the same skepticism will apply to your perception of the Gazette.

I'm pretty much out of feet to shoot. I think I'll just concentrate on turkey and football.

MSM Influence Fading...or Backfiring?

Texas Insider has an interesting editorial about the apparent irrelevancy of print media endorsements in the presidential election.

I don't believe that I've ever been influenced one way or another by a newspaper's endorsement of a candidate or voting issue, but if I have, it's been in the opposite direction of the endorsement. For example, if the New York Times endorses a candidate, I've learned that that's probably all I need to know to support his or her opponent. I suspect I'm not the only person for whom the MSM's influence has been reduced to a caricature.

Find Another Insult, Amigo (Part Dos)

I've seen this image all over the interweb so I'm not sure to whom the original credit goes, but Rob Stewart's Snippets gets the link. I've left comments on a couple of posts, but decided to put up a brief post of my own, because...hey, that's what I do!

This image originally appeared, as I understand it, in an expression of disgust and disdain by a disgruntled dem, and was intended to be an insult to the apparent neanderthalic voting tendencies of, well, most of America. But, as I pointed out last year, one man's insult is another man's kudo.

The only problem I have with the image as shown is that the borders of "Jesusland" don't extend far enough. I eagerly await the day when they run all the way to the uttermost part of the earth!

Lizard Brains

Much to chew on in this short essay by Greg Knauss. His premise is that the "political divide" we continue to face is caused not by conclusions reached after rational consideration, but rather from emotional "sub-rational" responses emanating from our "lizard brains."

I don't disagree that emotionalism is part of the problem, but to chalk it all up to sub-rational reaction is to reduce human mental processing to a mere caricature of what is actually an incredibly nuanced and complex phenomenon. A call for dispassion and reason in political discourse is admirable -- who could argue against it? -- but it's a bit condescending to suggest that those traits are currently totally absent on either side of the debate.

In reality, there's no real rational/emotional dichotomy in the way we process information and reach conclusions. Instead, there's a spectrum...a gradient...and both characteristics come into play simultaneously or in parallel or in opposition or in reinforcement. The point is that's it's not a binary switch, on or off.

But the real problem is the presupposition that all ideas should be given equal consideration, and that the we reject those bad ideas because we're feeling, not thinking. The fact is that some ideas just don't work on any level -- rational, emotional or anywhere in-between.

Greg points directly to the internet in general, and to blogs specifically as a prime culprit in empowering this shift to lizard brain processing. Blaming the medium for the message is easy to do, but it doesn't really help in understanding and solving the underlying problem (and it certainly lets the MSM off the hook).

In the end, while the goal of a rational and civil political dialog is admirable, the suggestion that we can achieve it by eliminating emotion and feeling is naive and unrealistic. The best we can hope for is a little more balance.

[Link tip to A Whole Lotta Nothing.]

Red Counties vs Blue

Someone just sent me the map shown below via email, so I don't know its original source or its accuracy, but it presents an interesting picture...one that gets a bit distorted by the coloring of states.

Granted, since we're a republic of states, those state lines really are meaningful; I'm not trying to minimize that fact or argue otherwise. This is just a different perspective than what we usually see.

I am curious about that one blue county in central Texas, though. Sorta looks like Travis County, doesn't it? Figures.

Update: Wallace over at Streams has a region-by-region analysis of why specific areas are colored like they are. And Dan at Behind the Wall of Sleep uses the map as a jumping off point to explain to a certain bombastic pundit why these results are, indeed, a mandate.

Kerry Concedes

CBS Marketwatch is reporting that Kerry has called President Bush to concede the election.

If this is true, my hat's off to the Senator for sparing the country a painful replay of 2000.

Media-Free Day (Except for blogs, of course)

I'm going to do my dead level best to avoid consuming any broadcast media today, in silent protest of the ridiculous spectacle I'm seeing on every channel. I'm referring, of course, to the practice of continuing to quote the myriad opinion polls purporting to predict the outcome of the presidential election...even as people are now casting votes.

I realize that the networks have to broadcast something on election day, but, Lord willing, the speculation ends tonight, so why not just shut up about these non-scientific polls and let the actual numbers do the talking.

Tonight would be an excellent time to go out for dinner and a movie, hit the sack early and wake up in the morning to read election results. Anybody got the discipline to do that?

Lileks nails it...again

I think this speaks for itself:

Read the whole thing.

Debate Preparation Done Right

P.J. O'Rourke puts some words in the President's mouth...some very funny words...some very funny-yet-wise words...some very... Oh, go read it yourself!

Tip 'o the hat to The Thinklings.

Why Kerry Is Not An Option

While I haven't been coy with my political stance, up to this point I also haven't gone out of my way to do any serious politicking. I prefer to leave that to others who are smarter, better informed, more perceptive and more articulate than me. People like, say, Bill Whittle.

If you've already decided to vote for George Bush, you can read Bill's latest posts and be awed by his historical perspective and grasp of the interrelationship of events. But it's not really critical that you do so.

If, however, you've decided to vote for John Kerry -- and particularly if you were swayed by the first debate -- I urge you to go to the following links and commit the 20 minutes it will take to read what Bill has to say. His observations might just cause you to rethink your vision of what will become of America over the next four years, based on the outcome of the upcoming election. Just keep this mantra in mind: Wishing does not make it so.

Go ahead...I dare you. Part one is here; part two (if you don't notice the link on his site) is here.

[Tip o'the hat to Charles at dustbury.com]

"Hate Speech" from the Left? Oh, surely not!

I don't get over to Jack Rich's "Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness" as often as I should, and as a result I'm often late in finding such gems as this, a post in which Jack takes on the New York Times, MoveOn.org, John Kerry, Jimmy Carter and seditionists in progressives' clothing.

Jack makes an excellent point about MoveOn's recent ad in the Times attacking the Gallup poll organization for its Christian perspective. If that perspective was any other religion or "worldview," (and was initiated by a conservative organization) such an attack would have liberals from coast-to-coast yelling about hate speech. But, as usual, Christians (or, as some of our local bloggers refer to us, "fundamentalist simpletons") are fair game for such attacks.

Ah, well. It's not like we weren't warned that this would be the case, a mere 2,000 years ago.

Fair Warning from Texas

In the unlikely event JohnSquared wins the upcoming election, the Lone Star State has a plan of action. Read all about it over at Bryan's Arguing with Signposts.

Terrorists & Drunk Drivers

Due to an inexcusable breakdown in our internal control process, the Today Show was on the TV in our bedroom after breakfast yesterday. I walked into the room just in time to hear Matt Laurer ask President Bush if he thought the war on terrorism was winnable. As soon the President's reply left his lips, I knew we were in for a long and ugly next few days.

In case you missed it, his reply was pretty simple: no, we can't win the war against terrorism.

JohnSquared didn't waste any time jumping on this apparent lapse in judgment by quickly proclaiming that, by gum, the Democrats will win the war on terrorism, if given the chance.

This, my friends, is why I'm voting again for W. Because he's right, plain and simple, and he won't lie to the American people just to be politically correct.

We'll never "win" the war on terrorism, any more than we'll "win" the war against drunk driving. See, the Democratic candidates still don't get it. This is not a conventional war where, as Bush's campaign spokesman put it, there will be a conventional and formal cessation of hostilities, sealed with a signed declaration that clearly identifies who won and who lost. Terrorism doesn't need armies, well-stocked arsenals or even governments. Terrorism needs only one person intent on doing evil, and how are you going to stop that?

Sure, we need to try to kill or disable as many terrorists as possible before they have a chance to put their plans into action, but to declare victory is to bury your head in the sand...next to a claymore.

Perhaps JohnSquared will garner a few extra votes from the naive and complacent who sleep better at night with the knowledge that if politicians say a thing, then that thing must be. Personally, I'd rather have a leader who tells me up front that the world is now different, and we'll never return to how it used to be, and here's what we need to do in order to cope with it. Give me the straight scoop, recruit me to help, and let's get to work doing what we can.

My only regret about the President's remark is how his own campaign seems defensive about it. Bush is simply doing what he does best: underpromising and overdelivering, and in my book, that's strength, not weakness.

Update: CNN Headline News just aired a sound bite from the President's speech this morning in front of an American Legion convention in which he says that we will win the war on terrorism. That's the problem with sound bites...a lack of context. Bryan over at Arguing With Signposts puts the context issue into, um, context. Still, I wish the spin cycles weren't so strong.

RNC Verse of the Day

As the Republican National Convention kicks off, I thought it fitting to find the following verse in my daily Bible reading:

That seems pretty clear, doesn't it?

We Interrupt This Campaign to Bring You This Message: Lighten Up

Cowtown Patty has three strikes against against her. One, she's from up north (Foat Wuth). And, (b), she likes Mollyescu Ivinski. Despite these overwhelming character flaws, you gotta love her, especially when she points us to links like this'n, in a video parody featuring Will Ferrell as W.

CTP and I agree on one thing: you gotta laugh to keep from crying, sometimes.

Why He's Lileks and I'm Not

The air smelled like raw potatoes when I retrieved the paper from the front drive shortly before dawn.

OK. That right there...that's why I often question my fitness to occupy the same blogosphere as James Lileks. He gives us this exquisite fisking of Kerry's MTV appearance; I note that our neighborhood smells like a vegetable.

So what are you waiting for...go read the Bleat, all the way to the end. If you want to return here later, that's fine. But salvage at least part of the day first.

West Texas Water Rights & The Election

Just opened my mailbox to find dueling flyers from Seliger and Edwards. Seliger claims that he is "the only runoff candidate willing to take a strong stand to protect our local water," while Edwards states that only he "has signed the pledge to 'Protect Our West Texas Water.'"

Well, I've seen the TV ad where Seliger says point blank that he opposes both Boone Pickens and Rio Nuevo in their plans to sell underground water supplies. He says it again in his flyer.

Edwards' flyer, OTOH, says this: "He will fight the big-city politicians who threaten our water."

Gotta tell you, Kirk...I'm a lot less worried about those "big-city politicians" than I am about the mid-sized city business types and hipster doofuses who are trying to influence the former. Where do you stand with respect to them?

Movable Type & Campaign Blogs

Back when I was asked to take over Mike Conaway's Congressional campaign website, he was considering adding a blog to it. As part of the research in letting him know what was involved, I contacted Six Apart and asked them if a political campaign was required to purchase a commercial license in order to install a Movable Type blog on its site. Their online documentation wasn't really clear in that area.

I emailed Six Apart back in November, but didn't hear anything until earlier this month...and that response was simply to tell me that they were really backed up in their customer support due to some changes in their support system. In the meantime, Mike and his staff had decided that a blog probably wasn't going to be a big asset in this particular campaign, a decision with which I areed. My advice from the beginning had been that if you're going to blog during a campaign, you'd better commit to doing it diligently, or it could turn into a liability.

Well, I heard from Six Apart again this evening, and even though it's a moot point for the Conaway campaign, it's interesting to note that a commercial license is indeed required for an installation of an MT blog on a political campaign website.

The email went on to say that the whole spectrum of MT licenses is being re-visited, due to the proliferation in the kinds of ways that people are beginning to use blogs.

And, for any website designers who might be contemplating installing an MT blog for a client -- regardless of that client's status -- if you're doing it for money, you (or your client) will have to pay a commercial license fee. (I don't think that's anything new; this is just a reminder.) That being the case, if you're doing work for a non-profit entity which wouldn't have to pay for a commercial license, it's probably wise to hire Six Apart to do the installation, and save a hundred bucks or so.

On a more general note, the fact that Six Apart is taking a closer look at its licensing structure is yet another indication that blogging is becoming a communications tool whose use is limited only by one's imagination.

[On an unrelated note, I wonder what it would be like to work for Six Apart in client support, realizing that your every email is bloggable? Six Apart isn't unique in that status, but they are surely more cognizant of the implications than most everyone else.]

No Sparks

Don Sparks has just announced that he will not further pursue the District 31 State Senate seat. He will also not endorse a candidate (and for that reason I considered titling this post "No Sparks Plug," knowing that at least Dawn would appreciate it).

I suppose I'm now free to comment at will about this race, now that I no longer have a fiduciary interest in its outcome. However, I'm having a hard time working up much enthusiasm for commentary. With Quackenbush out of the race, it's not exactly a page-turner.

I did find it interesting to note that Kirk Edwards paid more than twice as much for his new campaign website, compared to Don. I guess I'm going to either have to revisit my rates, or start using an Austin address. OTOH, Kirk's in the runoff and Don isn't, so maybe I'll just keep my mouth shut.

West Texas Politics: Better than cable.

OK...I'm going for a record here: two consecutive political posts.

Owing to a previous promise, I must present the following quote without commentary. OTOH, it pretty much speaks for itself.

"Mr. Pickens" is, of course, the inimitable T. Boone.

One of the anonymous bloggers over at Jessica's Well also weighs in on the significance of this exchange.

Incidentally, here's the article that provides the entire context for the issue. It's an important one, too (the issue, not the article).

Leader or 1st Grade Teacher?

I read some of the excerpts from Paul O'Neill's whining memoirs of his [blessedly] short time in the Bush administration. Most people seem to be focusing their attention on the allegations of pre-9/11 Iraqi invasion plans, but I was struck by something much more relevant.

In this particular account (I tried to find a link, but couldn't), O'Neill made the following observations [considerably paraphrased]:

• Bush met with me once and I had a lot to discuss with him, and all he did was listen. It turned out to be a monologue.
• We were always frustrated because we never knew what Bush wanted us to do.
• When Bush attended cabinet meetings, he appeared to be "disengaged." He hardly ever asked any questions.

You know, I don't doubt a bit the veracity of O'Neill's observations. But what he obviously interpreted as weakness I see in a much different light. And I'm really surprised that O'Neill's background as a corporate executive didn't allow him to understand what he was observing.

It's called "leadership." Listening instead of talking. Expecting highly-paid, highly-qualified people to know their jobs and how to do them, to the point where you can focus on setting the vision, and they use their expertise to do the rest. Not getting so bogged down in the details that you can't set that vision.

O'Neill didn't want to work for a leader; he wanted to be back in the first grade.

Bush Ladies

Just caught the NBC Dateline episode featuring Barbara Bush. What a classy lady.

Think what you will about Dubya and his dad, their politics and performance in office, it's hard to dispute that their wives -- Laura and Barbara -- are the epitome of what an American "First Lady" should be.

Barbara said that she has never considered the legacy that she will leave, aside from her children and grandchildren. I believe her legacy is already sealed, and she will be pleased. And I believe the same will apply to Laura.

Left Coast Snoozer

Ahnold may have thought it was the "Super Bowl of Debates," but the interminable five minutes I spent watching it seemed to confirm that it was actually the GalleryFurniture.com Bowl of Debates.

That's not a compliment, by the way.

The Clintark Ticket

Jack Rich, over at Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness (which, by the way, gets my vote for the most under-appreciated poli-religi-cultura-blog; you need to be visiting him every day) has an excellent summation of the Hillary Clinton/Wesley Clark Presidential-wannabe nightmare sequence.

Judging by the way Katie, et al on the Today Show are all ga-ga over the Senator, I'm guessing Jack is perilously close to being dead right. The only silver lining I can foresee is the mass smothering-spell the "Demodwarves" will succumb to when they learn that The Hillary is rendering them obsolete.

Iranians on Iran

John over at Le Sabot Post-Moderne offers a fascinating -- and encouraging -- glimpse into the Iranian mindset. I especially like this:

Read it all (and learn why it should be "Parsi" instead of "Farsi").

Campaign Blues

Am I the only one who finds the timing of the next presidential election to be highly inappropriate? I mean, what were we thinking?

The problem isn't the election, per se, but the campaign leading up to it. As a nation, we've been through a tragedy of epic proportions and two wars, and I just don't think we're ready for the gushingingly stupid and divisive rhetoric that will be blasting past us like shrapnel for the next year.

I had the misfortune to hear excerpts of John Kerry's Labor Day speech several times yesterday, and they just depressed me. He had little to say that that was noteworthy, in and of itself, but he did succeed in clearly articulating his perception that we're a doomed nation whose only hope is to tear down what little we have left before we can start building it back up. Yeah, that's really a message that "resonates."

Sometimes, I think we'd be better off if the Presidential term of office was limited to a single, seven-year stint, no exceptions. Why seven years? No reason, except that it doesn't correspond to any other elected office's term, and therefore would only rarely ever provide overlapping campaigns. And seven years would give us, the people, a bit more of a respite from one of those campaigns.

Unless, God forbid, it was decided that campaigns should start three years in advance.

"Touch it and you die!"

Great interview on The Today Show a few minutes ago. Ann Curry was discussing the California gubernatorial scene with Sherry Bebitch-Jeffe, who is with the USC School of Policy Planning and Development. Ms. Bebitch-Jeffe was quite articulate and had some good insights about Ahnold's campaign, and what he needs to do (and not do) to maximize his chances for success.

Her best line came in regard to Prop. 13, the 1978 initiative that rolled back property taxes in the state. She said that Prop. 13 is "the third rail of California politics: touch it and you die."

In a world ruled by nuance and attention to esoteric detail, the truth of that statement stands pretty tall.

Arnie "is beck"

So Arnold Schwarzenegger has decided to throw his sizable hat into the California ring after all. Good for him.

I wish he was governor of Texas. It's not that I have anything against Rick Perry, although he could use a personality transfusion. I'd just love to see Arnie get on his Harley, head for Albuquerque, and lay some Terminator-style "persuasion" on the embarrasingly ridiculous contingent of Democrats who'd rather flee than govern.

You know it's really bad when California has smut sultan Larry Flynt, SUV psycho Arianna Huffington, and Really Big Bosomed Angelyne as bona fide gubernatorial candidates, and yet we still can't really make fun of them because our "legitimate" politicians are such jokes.

Much as I admire Arnie, I think it would be the height of delightful irony if Davis got re-elected.

Blogging MP on WMD

Tom Watson is one of at least two members of the British Parliament who blog (both are shown in the Gazette's "Misc" blogroll, marked with the parenthetical "MP").

Joe Territo of the National Interest Weblog was able to snare a brief email interview with Mr. Watson, and Joe asked several questions about his feelings regarding the "missing" WMDs and the justification for the war in Iraq.

Here's an example of the level-headed approach Mr. Watson takes on these issues:

I recommend reading the whole interview.

I don't envy the Brits a lot of things, but I wouldn't mind having at least one of their politicians and his common sense over here.

"Weblog Fury"

I direct your attention to today's column by William Safire, in which he dissects the movement toward a recall election for California governor Gray Davis. Safire makes a good point about the dangerous precedent a successful recall effort would set. Absent any "impeachable offense," (and my perception is that Davis is basically inept and unpopular, but not criminal), the voters should have to live with their decision until the next scheduled election.

But, frankly, I'm not all that intrigued with California politics...we have more than enough to keep us entertained and annoyed in Texas. What really caught my eye about Safire's column is this quote (bold type my emphasis):

My observations tend to make me think that fewer people know what a Weblog is than Safire assumes, but the more often such usage appears, the more quickly that situation will vanish.

Moore & Albright

This is MUCH too easy! You'd think that after almost a week of non-posting, I'd have something more pithy and insightful for my (up to) 20 faithful readers. You'd be wrong. When I read this report this morning, I just couldn't get the following image out of my mind...

Like most bloggers I know, I've pledged to use my Photoshop Powers© for good and not for evil; therefore, I strongly advise parents to exercise discretion in allowing small children and pets near the family monitor. This goes double for book signings.

"Cowboy"? Better find another insult, pard.

I was just reading about that French play called "George W. Bush ou le triste cowboy de Dieu" (George W. Bush or God's sad cowboy), how the director was bushwhacked (okie doke...pun intended) a while back and the play was shut down for a spell ("for the protection of the actors") and how it's about to start runnin' agin. Who says the French are lily-white cowards? Not me, that's fer durn sure.

Anyway, I don't rightly understand why them little French guys think calling somebody a cowboy is such a big insult. I reckon none of 'em have ever met a real cowboy. I figgered them little French guys would have a better way with words than that, anyhow. Maybe they're just ashamed of their own insults so they're havin' to borrow words from us. I can understand that. If'n you had to go around all day talkin' like you had a mouthful of snails or somethin' I reckon you'd wish for some good old American words, too.

Anyway, I reckon that if the worst thang folks could call me was cowboy, I'd be pretty dang happy with that monicker. 'Cause here's what being a real cowboy means...

• He don't sit around talkin' about something that needs doin' until it cain't be done...he gits on his horse and he goes and does it.
  
  
• When he tells somebody he's gonna do something, he by gum does it, come hell or high water.
  
  
• There's no friend like a cowboy; he'll tell you when you're wrong, help you make it right, and go to hell and back with you or for you, whichever the situation calls for.
  
  
• He'll go outta his way and three counties over to avoid a fight if'n he sees an honorable way to make peace. But if you back him into a corner — if you mess with his spread or his kin — he won't bring a knife to the gunfight.
  
  
• He don't rightly give a snake's butt what you think a him. If you ain't a cowboy yourself, he understands that you just cain't help yourself.

Yessir, I've known plenty a cowboys in my time, and I wouldn't trade a one of 'em for a whole herd of cheese wranglers. But here's the deal: it ain't too late for them little French guys to come around to the cowboy way. But they're gonna have to show a little backbone first. As my pard Texas Bix Bender is fond a sayin', sometimes courage takes nuthin' more than sittin' down, suckin' it in and listenin'. But, in the end, there's always this, agin from ol' TBB: the bigger the mouth, the better it looks shut.

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Russian Frustration

I'm far from expert in the area of US-Russian diplomatic wrangling, so this op-ed piece in today's Moscow Times is an eye-opener for m